Matias Sanchez: A Look Back

The strange saga of Matias Sanchez and the Crew started Feb. 4 when the Argentinian midfielder
officially arrived in Columbus but without a contract. The Crew was preparing to head to Florida
for the Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic, but first coach Robert Warzycha and the staff said
they wanted to see Sanchez in person.

It sounded odd, given that they had already extensively scouted him, but the process took little
time. After a light session on the indoor field at the SuperKick facility in Lewis Center, Sanchez
made the trip with the Crew and was announced as having signed a contract Feb. 8.

“With the things we knew before, we just wanted to see him on the field: how he is running, how
he interacting with the players and how he is keeping the ball here,” Warzycha said that day. “He’s
a good player. He showed he is the guy we were looking for.”

I certainly thought so as well. In our season preview section, I projected Sanchez as a member
of the starting lineup with the following line: “Projected to play as a defensive midfielder,
Sanchez provides durability and should help link the Crew’s back line and attacking players.”

Time would prove that Sanchez was not the guy the Crew was looking for, however, and he was one
of two immediate cuts in the aftermath of the team’s final regular season game. It wasn’t hard to
see why: his guaranteed compensation of $230,000 (according to the players’ union) was
fourth-highest on the club but his minutes played (820) were 18th-most. Although injuries would
cost Sanchez five games in the second half of the season, his total minutes played is less than
both Gláuber (1,169) and Eddie Gaven (900), and both were lost before midseason with season-ending
knee injuries.

When I spoke with Brian Bliss, who was solely the technical director at the time, on March 6, he
said rookie Wil Trapp would have a difficult time breaking into the mix because of a glut of
players available as defensive midfielders – Sanchez included.

After Danny O’Rourke was injured May 4, Warzycha said Sanchez was an option to replace him in
the lineup, saying he was “dying to play.” He then made his debut in the starting lineup May 11,
going 77 minutes in a 2-0 home loss to Colorado. That following week, Warzycha praised his play
alongside Tony Tchani as the team’s two defensive midfielders.

“I think we played a lot of one-touch passes,” Warzycha said May 15. “They were pressuring at
the right time and we didn’t lose the middle of the field. From my point of view, that was a solid
game.”

Added Gláuber: “Matias made a really good game last Saturday. I hope now he brings that attitude
to make the same impact in every game because he’s a good player. He has good technique and he can
help us.”

I asked Gláuber if it had been tough for Sanchez to sit the bench.

“Of course,” he said. “Every player wants to play every game, but it’s the decision of the
Robert and you have to respect that. When you have an opportunity, you have to do like Matias did
last Saturday and put in good work.”

He would start the next seven games as the Crew went 2-3-3. It was his most consistent playing
time and also when he notched his lone goal.

“For any player, it’s key to manage a goal,” Sanchez said after the goal, which came in a 2-0
home win against Montreal. “After that, the work of the week was really reflected today.”

On June 20, I asked Jairo Arrieta – through an interpreter – if he was happy that the two were
tied in goals scored this season.

“I feel very happy for him,” he said. “I’m glad that he was able to score his first goal. On my
end, I want to keep adding to my account. Hopefully I’ll be able to start the games and add to my
personal account, which is a goal.”

Arrieta would finish with three goals.

During that seven-game stretch, Sanchez’s fiery style of play endeared him to fans but also led
to five yellow cards and a one-game suspension. He started the next game, sat the next two, started
the next two and never appeared in the lineup again.

On June 27, team president and general manager Mark McCullers cited Sanchez as one cause for
optimism that the Crew could still go on a run. At the time, the club was 5-6-5.

“You look at (Agustin) Viana and Sanchez and Gláuber right there we were very active in the
offseason and one of the reasons we were very optimistic and continue to be very optimistic,” he
said.

It was August 13 when Warzycha said Sanchez was having a problem with his calf and that he was
receiving treatment. He would eventually have two MRIs, although Warzycha described the injury as a
sprain and nothing serious.

Warzycha was publicly let go Sept. 2, and Bliss took over as the interim coach for the final
eight games. On Sept. 5, I asked him for an update on Sanchez’s status.

“He’s been cleared medically in terms of what he can do all-in,” Bliss said. “He’s been out
(about) three weeks so he might be a bit behind in terms of rust and stuff on the technical side
and obviously the cardiovascular side, but look, if we need to use him I’m not afraid of throwing
him in there. He’s a seasoned pro at a young age and if we have to ask him to go in and play I’m
confident he can do it.”

When he still had seen no action thirteen days later, Bliss made a statement he would end up
somewhat repeating today in discussing his departure.

“I think he’s been a little bit up and down,” Bliss said Sept. 18. “I think he started off a
little slow through preseason and the start of the year. I think Robert found seven or eight games
in and put him in there and I think he actually gave a pretty good account of himself for a stretch
of six or seven games and then he had a little bit of a downturn and was taken out of the lineup
and then got an injury and was out for a few weeks.

“It’s been a rollercoaster for him. Whether he didn’t expect the pace and physicality of our
league and wasn’t up to it, I’m not quite sure, but he’s also got some qualities too that some of
our other guys don’t have. It’s not all negative with him.”

And that’s it. Today he was let go, and his future is a mystery. In a full season, I found
reason to speak with him on a total of three occasions, one of which was about the new pope being
from Argentina. Sanchez formed close bonds with Federico Higuain, Arrieta, Gláuber and Viana but
was unable to translate that into sustained on-field success.

For what he was being paid, the Crew clearly had higher expectations for Sanchez.